Meet Lily Gao | Artist & Nonprofit Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lily Gao and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lily, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My business began in April 2020 with Linh Truong’s YouTube video on her online sticker shop. I’d watch, over and over, as she broke down her brainstorming, drawing, and printing process, ending with a montage of sold-out products and satisfied reviews. What struck me was the simplicity of sticker-making—until then, I thought of stickers as glossy enigmas, printed en masse by some distant factory, rather than artwork that required little more than the appropriate materials. I was also stunned by our similarities. Like her, I was an artist with a knack for digital illustration; like her, I was a young Asian woman eager to forge a path into entrepreneurship. So I asked my parents for modest investments—namely, a cheap printer and a stack of sticker paper—and got straight to work.

The nonprofit side of my business began a month later as our country reckoned with its history of racial injustice and systemic inequalities. I read articles upon articles detailing the struggles of disenfranchised groups in America, and for the first time, I began to question my complicity amidst it all. I resolved that, as a seventh grader stuck at home, my best bet in supporting communities in crisis was through donations. And what better way to donate than to use revenue from my up-and-coming art shop?

So in June 2020, my vision of a nonprofit, online, hand-crafted stationery shop became Paper Cloud Studio Co. I was beyond excited and thrilled to see how my brand would evolve, and even now, I am filled with that eager sense of anticipation.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Paper Cloud Studio Co. is a part-nonprofit sticker and card business based in Metro Atlanta. As the e-commerce shop’s sole designer, marketer, and owner, I draw from my abilities to fund causes I believe in. Over the past four years, I have raised nearly $2,000 from sales to over a dozen countries to charitable identity-based and human-rights organizations, from Atlanta’s Asian American Advocacy Fund to the UN fund for Gaza to a GoFundMe for a local family. My business is an outlet for artistic expression and an avenue for community aid; both functions have become an integral part of how my shop operates and how I envision its growth as I approach my final year of high school.

My business specializes in cards and stickers that I design, print, and cut from home. My products are cute, fun, and aesthetically pleasing—I want every sticker to have its place in any bullet journal or scrapbook. One of my first listings that truly took off was my “chonky frog” sticker pack, which sold rapidly as the animals became popular on social media. I also aim to incorporate my East Asian culture into my artwork by illustrating foods like dumplings, noodles, and Chinese bakery pastries, while specific stickers like watermelon and seasonal holiday frogs are dedicated to specific social justice causes.

A crucial aspect of my sticker shop is its social media presence. I mostly use Instagram to promote my products and increase interest in my shop. Since Instagram’s short-form reel videos tend to attract the largest audiences, I make sure to film quick clips of myself packing orders, managing my shop, or revealing tips and tricks for other small artists. I also post polls and quizzes twice a week on random facts and tidbits to boost interactions with my followers. Running a business has truly taught me innumerable lessons on brand strategy and marketing, which turns out to be quite fun and rewarding.

My artwork is often silly, but it is dedicated to serious causes. Every month, I choose a nonprofit organization to donate half of my shop revenue, with choices ranging from pro-LGBTQ+ charities to local children’s hospitals. Recently, I have especially focused on humanitarian efforts for Palestinians and have begun spreading awareness on specific campaigns I support, so my latest social media posts are centered around education and information. As my shop grows, I want to continue to use my platform for good, one small sticker at a time.

Over nearly four years, the caliber of my management has grown alongside my business experience. I have learned the details of printing and packing, the subtle care marketing content requires, and the patient diligence involved in building a business I am proud of. And I have learned to have faith—in the appeal of my art, in the joy of my customers, and, above all else, in the crucial causes that are changing my community. I hope that my efforts, no matter how small, will inspire others to spread generosity and kindness.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Paper Cloud Studio Co. would not exist without the support of my parents, Lanfang Wang and Hongjiang Gao. They saw my fledgling passion and gave my business the resources to grow wings. I cannot thank them enough for my clunky inkjet printer and first sheets of sticker paper, which continue to serve my shop well.

My small shop also would not exist without any of its gracious customers and reviewers. A special thanks to all of my friends, classmates, and teachers from Lilburn who have accepted my sticker gifts at nearly all occasions. If you get the same frog card a few years in a row, consider that my love language.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/papercloudstudioco

Instagram: @papercloudstudio

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lily-gao-6623a2296

Other: TikTok: @papercloudstudio